Fishing leader making device



Sept. 13, 1949. E. E. GREGORY 2,481,587

I FISHING LEADER MAKING DEVICE Filed July 3, 1948 INVENTOR ELI EIGREGORY 0 BY 8 ELLMIZ'ZAMAGMAAJHW-PBAMWU ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 13, 1949 OFFICE Eli; -E. Gregqly, Lewisnort, A lication July 3,1943, Serial No. 36,853,.

fiClaims; (Cl. 1

Th s ni' ntion, elat to evices for m k n fish n leader nd. mor Part u r y to d vi for facilitating the applying ofa fish lure; hools, swivel, connector. or the like, to the ends of a engt of w e to qrm he' en t pu of 5 theinyention being to provide an improved deice o th s or One form of leader which is used extensivelyin both salt andjfresh water fishlngconsists of a pjece'of wireof suitahle gaugeandlength, usually n from one to three ieet, havinga swivel secured to one end', 'and a hook attachedto the opposite end}. In some cases, instead of'attachin'g thehook directly to the leader, the leadee isp roiiided with. a connector to make it easierto change toa. difz-v ierent size or style of hookor lure. Whatever device is to be attached to the leaden, whethen hook, swivel, corinectm on the like, such device is often provided with a closed eye and is ate. tached to the leaderby forming: a loop adjacent the end of the leader wire and then tightlycoih ing the wire uponitself to close this. loop andafix. the hook, or the like, permanently-tome. end. of the leader.

The-formation otthis loop.withtheusualhand; tools, particularly the coiling of the end-of; the leader-wire upon itself, is a laborious .0Der21.,t- 1g :;nespecially-when a stiff leadenwineisusem Also, it may he. desired. to change-quickly; fiscal; one length oileades-teanothen 01s to nepl'ace abmkeu orda a ed leader. It. s sometimesi cocteo it o a a. upply. of leadersois nations en ths and: desirable .to make unonthesnct t e. lhfii l o Ian type of. leader reunited;

Ac ordin ly, t p mary ohieqtq invention.istonrovidea evlce wh atet-he ormation oi: th qon is, and the c ilin at ib -Wil u s i oc eie mooihwil. nQtherI biect Qi- :the n i toprovide 40 devi e hichw faqlllt tethe sssmbls Qf the lead w re andthehoolscrhe l ke and which. lsolwil ass st-la iqrmln t e loos cries tome coiling of the end of thaw ng on. tg e ljhewgg hence.

anothe ob ect o he. i vention is to; provide uc i e w h i .ext ni ,simolein 0 1;? ti lQ 'lishli ln weight Qthat' it may. be, carried with oth'r fishing equipment th b eaabli a saq r 0? ant e thtebe n glec an i a; P lW- i l adex lreaud o and, ire-cu tars. th coilineoi the wire-9n itselfitoc sethe leader loop may be accomplished with apparent satisfaction, but there is danger of damagihg the wire through the use of these tools. The damage may be unnoticed, or undiscoverahle, but may cause the leader to break at just the wrong time. Another important object of the inveli; tion, therefore, is' the provision of a device which will form the coil about the body of the leader wire without damaging or weakening the wire, 1n any way.

The invention will be understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings in which a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated by way of example. W

In thesedrawings:

Fig. l is a viewof the leadermaking device-in side elevation with parts broken away and shown in. section;

Fig. 2- isaview of the device in partial and ele vat-ion looking from the right of Fig. 1;

Fig; 3' is. a frag-rnentai yview similar to Fig. 1 with certain parts shown in different positions;

Fig. 4. is a detail section, takenon line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. his a. vertical transverse section takenon lin-e' 51-.=5 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 66 is a horizontalseotion taken on line 6-6 ofFig; 1.;

Fig. 1 isasimilar section taken hi her upand with the law closed. (See line 'l...'l' ofFig. 3.);

Fig; 8f isa vertical transversesection taken. on line 81?8.0fFig. 3; and

Fig. 9isa. View of one'form of leader madelby means of thedevice of the invention.

Referring nowv tothe. accompany n drawings and first toFig. 9,, this figure illustrates one form of leader which may be made on thepapparlalfius or. device. of he. nresen nvention. It 0.0 1 0f awirel; f e; psouer lengthi r he particular kind-0i fishin at han This; wir willalso be;

sui ableau e t prov dethe stren th desired. nd, accor ingly. the'wirem y vary in size conlcle ly, but wil us l y e, comparatively stifi' n l ficult to bender co l.

Atits, upper nd t ee der w re I may have. a

swivel; sl ches, that indicated at Lattached to, t: or ts be. attached directly. tqthq fishing line. At its. low-er end a hook 3 is attached. Hook 3 i provided witha closed eye l throughwhioh a 1QP 5s ormed. towardthe lower end of the ta cs-wire P ss s- .0 12 is lo y. nd:- ing the end portion of. the leader wire, about. its,

a isitsi and 3 are shown as being made in one piece for simplicity of illustration, and they, accordingly, lie in the same plane which is tilted somewhat from the vertical as indicated in Fig. 5. Itwill be understood, however; that if desired these frame members can be made of separate parts riveted or otherwise permanently secured together.

On the front surface of frame member 8 are mounted parts which constitute a guiding and friction-applying means for th end portion II] of a piece of leader wire stock which is inserted from above as indicated in Fig. 1. friction-applying means comprises a clamping member I I which is pivoted near its lower end on a screw I2, and which has an upper wire engaging portion I3, the lower'portion of member I I being relieved by means of a shoulder I4. Clamping member. I I has an actuatin lever IIa extending to the left to upright frame member 9 where itis connected to a tension spring I5 which biases the wire engaging portion I3 against the surface of wire I0. A thumb pad I6 is provided to depress lever. H and retract portion I3 to permit the insertion of wire end portion Ill. In Fig. 1, the dot and dash lines indicate the released position of member II.

- The wire engaging portion I3 of clamping member II forces wire end portion I against the inner surface of a lip or flange I! which extends. vertically in contact with the right edge of frame member 8 (Figs. 1, 3 and 6). Lip or flange I1 is formed on a cover member I8 mounted in front of pivoted clamping member I I and fixed to frame member 8 by means of pivot screw I2 and a second screw I9. Screw I9 is shown in side view in dotted lines in Fig. 8 from which it will be understood that it has a reduced end portion which is tapped intoframe member 8 and provided with a shoulder which spaces the head of the screw from the .surface of frame member 8 a, distance corresponding to the combined thicknesses of clamping member II and cover member'I8. Screw I2 is similar. A

slot 26 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 is pro-.

ided in clamping member I I to permit its pivotal movement about screw I2.

.JFig. 6showsthat wire end portion Illis confined at the sides by the surfaces of members I8 and 8. It will be understood that when the lever Ila. is depressed the wire engaging surface I3 is withdrawn from the inner surface of lip I! so as to leave an aperture in which the wire end portion I I) can be inserted.

The upper end of frame member 8 and the upper surface of clamping member II, also the upper surface of lip I'I, together constitute a coilforming anvil (Figs. 8 and which will be referred to hereafter. Cooperating with this anvil is ajaw member, indicated generally by numeral 2i, which is mounted at the right-hand of a bar 22 pivoted to the upper end of frame member 9 at 23; Jaw member 2I is comprised of the lower end of frame member 8, and a block 24 which is mounted on the front surface of the right hand' This guidin and.

ing guide 25 cooperates with the rear surface of frame member 8, and front positioning guide 21 with the front surface of the projecting upper end of member I8 when jaw 2I is closed.

Mounted at the right for rotation about an axis which is parallel to and substantially in line with the surfaces of the anvil members mentioned, there is a loop-forming and supporting head 28-. Head 28 is provided with an open slot 29 on the opposite side thereof from the anvil and jaw 2I. Head 28 is flattened on its sides and is formed at the end of one leg 30 of a closed U-shaped member,

. the other leg 3I of which is offset at 32 and fixed to a rotatable shaft 33 in any suitable manner.

' surface of bar 22, which is vertically above the Shaft 33 is mounted for rotation at the upper end of an L shaped frame member 34 which is permanently secured, as by means of rivets 35, to the lower end of frame member 8a which is bent rearwardly as shown in Fig. 5 for this purpose.

Member 8a and the other parts supported thereon are tilted as shown in this figure in order to align shaft 33 with the coil-forming anvil and cooperating jaw 2 I, that is to say, with the center of the coil-shaping mechanism of the device.

The purpose of the closed U-shaped device 30, 3I is to form a clamp by which the hook 3 may be releasably supported for rotation with the loop-forming head 28 with the eye 4 of the hook alongside of the slot 29. For this reason, members '30 and 3| are made of resilient metal so as to clamp the hook 3, or other device, such as the swivel 2 between them. The length of arms 30 and 3I is such as to accommodate the longest hook which it is desired to use, and theposition of offset 32 determines the shortest hook.which can be held in the device. Shaft 33 is provided with a hand crank 36 to facilitate the turning or rotation of head 28 during the forming of a coil.

' In operating the device to' attach, for example, a hook 3 to a. leader wire the procedure is as follows. While lever I la is held depressed in the dotted position shown. in Fig. 1,, so as to open an aperture between the inner surface of lip II and the wire-engaging surface I3 of pivoted member II, the end portion I0 of a piece of leader-wire is inserted in this aperture. It will be understood that the leader Wire, which is indicatedby the dotted lines extending above Fig. 1, maybe of any desired length, say. from 10 or 12 inches :to several feet. The length of the end portion In inserted in the aperture just referred to depends upon the number of turns desired in the coil 6 which is to be formed, and varies with the gauge of the wire used. i

' After 'th'einsertion of the end portion IIl lever I Iais released and the tension of spring I5 closes the wire-engaging surface I3 against'the Wire, exerting a predetermined pressure against it. With the end portion I0 thus held, the wire is bent with the fingers-rather sharply at right angles, as shown in Fig. 1, and the loop, such as loop 5, is formed in the wife by bending it through slot 29"and around head 28.

The wire. isbent through an angle of substanmany 360i" so that the two sides of the loop are substantially parallel and the body portion 31 of the leader wire is placed parallel with and in engagement with the anvil surfaces of members 8, II, and II, that is theupper'ends of these members. Body portion 31 is laid into the corner formed by these anvil surfaces and the projecting upper'portion of member I8. The parts of the wire'then lie as shown in'Fig. 1, and jaw member 2I *may "be-closed upon them and held ti htly 5 closed between the thumb and fingers of one hand.

With the other hand, crank 36 is rotated slowly in the clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 2. The rotation of head 28 causes loop 5, formed in the wire as just described, to be twisted or rotated. This motion carries the front part of loop 5 over the body portion 3'! of the wire, this body portion also being simultaneously turned on its own axis 5 by the rotary movement of head 28. This rotation of the body portion 31 causes the end portion IQ of the wire to be drawn out from between the guiding and friction-applying means I3, I! and bent or coiled around body portion 3'! as a mandrel, thereby forming a coil such as the coil 6 (Fig. 3) about body portion 31. In Fig. 3 the end portion l has been almost entirely withdrawn and at this point the pressure on head 28 is increased so that the end of the wire will be bent to substantially the same curvature as the remainder of the coil.

As the turns of coil 6 increase, the right end of the coil extends more and more to the right of jaw 2| and the anvil members. Accordingly loop and rotary head 28 also must recede and this is provided for through the resiliency of L-shaped frame member 34.

Rotary head 28 may be considered as a hookshaped member in which the shank portion is indicated by reference numeral 30 and the bight of the hook is formed by the slot or recess 29. This bight portion is in alignment with the body portion 31 of the wire so that head 28 rotates on an axis which passes through the bight portion of the head and is at right angles to the shank portion 30. The shape of the cross section of the hook-shaped head 28 at its bight portion governs the shape of the loop or eye 5 to be formed, as may be seen, for example, in Fig. '7. Accordingly the thickness of head 28 may be increased or decreased as desired, and also the distance of the bottom of slot 29 from the outer surface of the bight to vary the proportions and shape of the eye 5.

It will be understood that the pressure between members 22 and 24 of jaw 2 I, and their opposite members 8 and H exerted on the coil during the winding operation and the confining of the sides of the coil by members 18 and 25 keeps the coil straight and smooth. The increase of pressure towards the end of the coil formation causes the end of the wire to be bent sharply so as to produce a smooth coil throughout. On the completion of the coil jaw 2i is raised and loop 5 is swung upwardly and removed from rotary head 28.

In order to make a complete tool so as to eliminate the necessity of carrying wire cutters for cutting the wire into appropriate lengths a pair of slots 38 and 39 may be provided, respectively, in frame member 9 and the left hand of bar 22. By making these parts of hardened steel a serviceable wire cutter is provided.

The invention has been described and illustrated in connection with only one embodiment of it and it will be understood that changes and variations may be made as may be convenient or desirable without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is therefore considered to extend to such changes as may come within the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a device for making fishing leaders, guiding and friction applying means for receiving and engaging the end portion of a length of wire which is to form a leader, a coil forming anvil, an eye-supporting head adapted to receive a loop formed in said wire adjacent said end portion, the body portion of said wire being received on said anvil, means for supporting said head for rotation about an axis parallel to and substantially in line with the surface of said anvil, the rotation of said head serving to rotate the body portion of said wire and to cause said body portion to draw the end portion of said wire from said guiding and friction applying means and wind it about said body portion as a mandrel, and a jaw member movable into engagement with the coil on said anvil, said anvil and jaw member being shaped to engage the surface of said coil as it is formed and serving as pressure-applying means to squeeze said end portion as it emerges from the guiding and friction applying means close about the body portion of said wire to produce a smooth coil.

2. In a device for making fishing leaders, guiding and friction applying means for receiving and engaging the end portion of a length of wire which is to form a leader, a, coil forming anvil adjacent and at right angles to said guiding means, an eye-supporting head adapted to receive a loop formed in said wire adjacent and at right angles to said end portion, the body portion of said wire being received on said anvil at right angles to said end portion thereof, means for supporting said head for rotation about an axis which is substantially tangent to the portion of said wire as it emerges from said guiding means, the rotation of said head serving to rotate the body portion of said wire and to cause said body portion to draw the end portion of said wire from said guiding and friction applying means and wind it about said body portion as a mandrel, and a jaw member movable into engagement with the coil on said anvil, said anvil and jaw member being shaped to engage the surface of said coil as it is formed and serving as pressure-applying means to squeeze said end portion as it emerges from the guiding and friction applying means close about the body portion of said wire to produce a smooth coil.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotary eye-forming head is of generally hook shape having shank, bight and tongue portions and rotates about an axis at right angles to said shank portion.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotary eye-forming head is provided with a clamp for supporting a fish hook or the like with the eye thereof adjacent said head.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for supporting the eye-supporting head is yieldingly mounted on the frame of the device so as to allow the head to recede from the anvil as the coil lengthens.

ELI E. GREGORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 177,221 Dederick May 9, 1876 1,333,994 Page Mar. 16, 1920 1,752,726 Brannaka Apr. 1, 1930 1,951,891 Williams Mar. 20, 1934 2,367,320 Walters Jan.16, 1945 

